MS WORD 2007 INTERFACE

This tutorial will familiarize you with the elements of the Microsoft Word 2007 programme window.

Description of Word 2007 Programme Window Elements 

When you launch MS Word 2007, its program window appears on screen. A screenshot of the window is shown below with the screen elements labeled. This tutorial will introduce these elements in brief. You would learn about them in detail in the subsequent tutorials.

Title Bar

The title bar shows the name of the document on screen. When a new document is started, Word 2007 gives it a generic name like ‘Document 1’ and this is displayed on the title bar. When you save the document with a name, the generic name on the title bar is replaced by the given name.

Quick Access Toolbar

Located in the top left corner of the Word 2007 window, the Quick Access Toolbar contains some of the most frequently used commands like Save, Undo, Redo. You can add more commands to the Quick Access Toolbar as per your need. This toolbar helps you to perform Word tasks speedily by providing one-click access to oft used commands.

Window Controls

These are a set of three buttons in the top right corner of the program window.

• The right button,displaying an x, is the Close button . On clicking, this button closes the current document but not the Word programme.

• The left button is the Minimize button which minimizes the program window to the taskbar.

• The middle button, sporting a rectangle, is the Maximize button, which, on clicking, maximizes the Word 2007 window and the button image changes to a pair of rectangles. Another click restores the program window to its previous size and the button image to a single rectangle.

Ribbon

You can think of the Ribbon as a collection of seven horizontal tabbed toolbars arranged on top of each other. These toolbars are accessed through their tabs. The toolbars have command buttons, menus and input boxes arranged in groups. Some groups have dialog launchers (represented by a downward pointing arrow) which, when clicked, display a dialog box related to that group.

At any given time, only one tabbed toolbar is visible. When Word is launched, the Home tab is current and the toolbar attached to it is at the top, enabling you to invoke its commands by clicking them. When any other tab is clicked, its toolbar comes to the top and you can use the commands stored on it.

You may minimize the ribbon by clicking the 'Customize Quick Access Toolbar' button located to the right of the 'Quick access Toolbar' and choosing 'Minimize the Ribbon' from the drop-down menu. The Ribbon can also be minimized by double clicking the active tab; clicking any tab of the minimized Ribbon will redisplay it once again.

Office Button

Clicking 'Office' button reveals a drop-down menu showing commands for file operations. These commands are described below in brief.

• New: When you click this button, the 'New Document' window comes up displaying three panes. The first pane shows a list of templates types, the second pane shows the templates available for the template type selected in the first pane and the third pane shows a preview of the template selected in second pane. You can start a new document based on a template selected from amongst these. By default, the blank document template is chosen. Clicking the Create button starts a new document based on the selected template. Notice that Word 2007 offers a wide variety of templates from the Microsoft Office Online.
• Open: Starts the Open dialog where you can navigate to your documents folder, select an existing (i.e. previously saved) document and open it in Word window.
• Save: Clicking Save button saves the current document if it has been given a name and saved earlier, otherwise it launches the Save As dialog.
• Save As: Opens the Save As dialog. Here you can assign a name to a new document and save it. You may also rename a document saved earlier and save it with the new name.
• Print: This command is used for printing the current document.  
• Prepare: Clicking this button opens a menu which provides inormation regarding the current document and has commands for preparing it for distribution.
• Send: You may use this command to email a document or to fax it via internet.
• Publish: This command allows you to create a blog post and publish it.
• Close: You can close the current document using this button. However, the Word 2007 program keeps running.
• Word Options: Opens the Word Options Dialog where you can chose your preferred settings for display, proofing, saving, language, etc. It also provides facility for customizing the Ribbon and the Quick access Toolbar.
• Exit Word: Clicking this option closes the Word 2007 programme together with all open documents.

Help Button

Located below the Window Controls in the top right corner of Word window, this button brings up the Word Help window.

Rulers

The horizontal ruler is used to set tabs and indent text. You may use the vertical ruler to set vertical location of text in the document. If the rulers are not visible, click the View Ruler button immediately below the Ribbon on the extreme right.

The rulers show measurements in inches or centimetres, depending on the units of measure specified in Word Options.

Tab Selector

Repeated clicking of the Tab Selector shows five tab markers and two indent markers. By choosing the desired tab or indent marker and clicking on the horizontal ruler, you can set tabs or indent text.

Status Bar

On the left hand side, the status bar displays document information such as the current page number and total number of pages, word count, language, proofing error notification, etc. You can customize the information display by right clicking the status bar and and making selections out of the context menu that pops up.

View Buttons

These buttons allow you to use five different document views:

• Print Layout View: This view shows the document as it will look when it is printed.
• Full Screen Reading View: This view shows the document on full screen to make reading your document more comfortable.
• Web Layout View: Web Layout view enables you to see your document as it would appear in a browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer.
• Outline View: Outline view displays the document in outline form in which headings could be displayed without the text. When you move a heading, the accompanying text will move with it.
• Draft View: This is the most frequently used view for editing your document.

Zoom Tools

The Zoom slider lets you zoom out or zoom in the current document. The zoom range is from 10% to 500%. The current zoom level is displayed on the taskbar immediately left of the slider. Clicking the zoom level opens the Zoom dialog where you can specify the desired zoom level.

Vertical & Horizontal Scroll Bars

The vertical scroll bar is located at the extreme right of the Word 2007 window while the horizontal scroll bar is at the bottom of the window just above the status bar. Vertical scroll bar is always visible while the horizontal scroll bar appears only when the document width exceeds the screen width.

The scroll bars let you scroll the document up-down vertically or left-right horizontally. To scroll, you need to click and drag the scroll box showing three vertical/horizontal lines. The document moves in a direction opposite to the movement of the scroll box.

Text Area

Framed between the rulers and the scroll bars is a large area looking like a blank sheet of paper. This is the text area where you type the text of the document. You will see a blinking vertical line in the top left corner. This is the Cursor. The typed characters appear at its location. As a character appears at its location, the cursor moves to its immediate right.

Mouse Pointer

In Word, you use the mouse to choose commands, move around in the document, select and move text, etc. As you move the mouse pointer across the screen, it takes different shapes. It is a right pointing arrow within the left margin of the text area and an I-beam in the rest of the text area. Outside the text area, it takes the shape of a left pointing arrow.

The mouse is used to perform following actions :

• Point: Positioning the mouse pointer on an item.
• Single click: Clicking the left mouse button once.
• Double click: Clicking the left mouse button twice in quick succession.
• Triple click: Clicking the left mouse button thrice in quick succession.
• Right click: Clicking the right mouse button once.
• Drag & Drop: Pointing to an item, pressing and holding the left mouse button while moving the pointer to a new location and releasing the mouse button.

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